tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142456402024-03-13T20:45:16.727-05:00The Thinker--or Just Sitting Around?I've wondered about Rodin's famous sculpture. Is he engaged in deep thought or sitting around wasting time? And why isn't he wearing pants? I ask the same of myself. Here we comment on well, mostly politics. Or we may just sit! If you like it, tell a friend. If not, <u><b><a href="mailto:sittingorthinking@yahoo.com">tell us</a></b></u>, but please read the <u><b><a href="http://thinkergroundrules.blogspot.com">GROUND RULES</a></b></u> before you do.Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17504383209010655249noreply@blogger.comBlogger4580125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-29654997645533012712013-01-09T11:17:00.001-06:002013-01-09T11:17:36.491-06:00Cutting Back On My Contributions ...TO MY FRIENDS AND READERS, WHO MAY BE WONDERING about my absence from this blog. Serious illness takes precedence. I am among the 35 million or so of my fellow citizens who are uninsured, trying to deal with our Darwinian health care system. More later, as I am able to contribute. XOXO. C.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-79916988576560827082013-01-09T11:09:00.000-06:002013-01-09T11:09:05.637-06:00Quotable: Leon Panetta, Retiring At Defense ...ON GETTING BAC TO HIS WALNUT FARM ... "I'll be dealing with a different set of nuts."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-85188218310152635422012-12-22T10:25:00.000-06:002012-12-22T10:25:26.212-06:00We're Still Here: Mayan Calendar RewriteNO, THE WORLD DIDN'T COME TO AN END ON FRIDAY; but the Republican Party may have. The "flabbergasted" Speaker of the House, worst in history, was incapable of rising above the partisan divide to do what's right for America rather than his own hide. In the end, he wasted a week on a political dead-on-arrival stunt to raise taxes on million-dollar earners <i>that his own caucus rejected</i>! So much for hitting the bottle rather than behave with sobriety ...
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So, we're going over the proverbial "fiscal cliff," so what? Better no deal than a BAD deal. And the President is once again toying with the odious proposal to adjust Social Security CPI, which will TRULY hurt the most vulnerable. His penchant for playing macho with progressives and footsie with right wing Republicans is geting really old, really fast.
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So, the wily Mayan Calendar is predicting a "new cycle" in which the GOP (as historians look back on the date that was) is officially no more, replaced by a weird hybrid of Teabaggers, corporate lobbyists, and zillionaires who will not give up their dreams of hijacking our democracy. And maybe President Obama stops whining that Republicans don't like him, and starts growing a pair. Been there, done that ... and the Mayan Calendar is strangely silent on this score.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-80685056836543723002012-12-17T16:05:00.000-06:002012-12-19T14:14:25.183-06:00It's Time For America's Women To Step UpDespite the fact that the weapon of mass destruction used to slaughter 20 children in Newtown, CT was purchased by the shooter's mother, one of the least-discussed facts surrounding our so-called "gun culture" is that it is overwhelmingly macho. All you need do is listen to the radio call-in shows for the fanatics (aka, gun "enthusiasts") to come out of the woodwork tossing specious lofty concepts about their 2nd Amendment rights and false statistics concerning their imminent peril from a "tyrannical" "nazi" government. These individuals are fanatics to a fault, argumentative and obnoxious to the point one thinks, "get a LIFE, already!"
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Lately, we've been cowed into believing there's something virtuous called a "rural culture" (white) vs. "urban" (black) to explain their pure as a Caucasian snow-covered mountaintop love of military-style weapons of mass destruction ... the beter to mow down those darkies who won the last election, when the Obama communist revolution comes. President Obama was right. They cling to their guns and religion, and until a couple of decades ago, strung 'em up off the highest tree branch. Some "rural" culture.
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Here's the truth: There's nothing noble, or uplifting, or healthy, about rural America. Quite the contrary; it is poverty-stricken, polluted by huge transnational mining, chemical, oil and gas companies. Has "urban" America experienced the joys of fracking? No, and as New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg representing "urban" America and a city where strict gun laws have resulted in a steady decline in gun violence the last 12 years asserted, this gun madness must end.
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The "urban" v. "rural" cultural divide is a straw man thrown out by conservatives, naturally, to muddy the waters with the false implication that never the twain shall meet. In fact, one common denominator in most mass killings is that it is a<i> suburban</i> phenomenon perpetrated by fairly affluent disturbed young white males.
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What these straw man arguments do, however, is reinforce the economic forces behind our so-called "gun culture" led by their principal lobbying organization, the NRA. Guns are a zillion-dollar industry of death in America. That is why nothing has been done to curb or control it. There are some 58,000 licensed gun dealers in America; more than there are McDonald's, or Starbucks worldwide.
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We know what to do: Reinstate the assault weapons ban; close the gun show loophole which is exempted from background checks; tighten and enforce the existing laws on the books. And severely restrict those high-capacity magazines. That's just for starters. The question is, will President Obama follow through? Will the politicians show the political will and courage to take on a paper tiger like the NRA? Have we really reached that so-called "tipping point? (I'll believe it when I see it.)
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Call me crazy, but I think the only way meaningful, rational, sane gun control will ever be achieved in this this country is if the silent victims of the slaughters — our women, mothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, friends, teachers — stand up and be counted. Not many Americans have heard of the "pots and pans protests" which had their beginnings among South American housewives from Chile and Argentina, then spread through other countries, including English-speaking nations like Canada. These were protests by suburban housewives mostly, but not exclusively, against the government. In Argentina, they took to the streets loudly banging their pots and pans to protest the torture and disappearances of their sons and daughters during the military crackdown of the 80s.
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Amazingly, these protests were more effective than any others in achieving results; even the most heinous dictator had a mom who could shame them. Lately, such protests have centered on economic issues as an effective symbol of peaceful resistance to government inaction and defiance of a great injustice.
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We need our own "pots and pans" protest against government paralysis on gun control.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-16810044977250246922012-12-13T16:01:00.000-06:002012-12-13T16:01:12.306-06:00Quotable: Mitch McConnell Makes A Joke ...RE: PRESIDENT (DEMOCRATS) ON SO-CALLED "FISCAL CLIFF" TALKS:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">"The only thing Obama's left on the table is the varnish." ~ </span></b>The TURTLE has a wry sense of humor! This is actually funny, and as far as I can recall it's the only thing the annoying Republican obstructionist has ever said that made me laugh out loud. It also flatters the Democrats (those who aren't wavering) and the PUBLIC, which by SUPERMAJORITIES of upwards of 60% has decreed that Social Security (which has contributed NADA to the debt) is OFF THE TABLE; and, likewise, Medicare cuts to beneficiaries, and particularly that ODIOUS trial balloon hike in the retirement age from 65 to 67 are OFF THE TABLE. Who among the Democrats will be the first to betray the will of the American people, I wonder? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-66211505609325305722012-12-11T19:00:00.000-06:002012-12-11T19:00:28.775-06:00Proposed Cover For Reissue of "The Fountainhead"HMMM ... WHERE'S THAT 68-POUND WEAKLING HOWIE "ATLAS" HOLDING UP THE BUILDING?!
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-24953373681985931252012-12-09T12:48:00.000-06:002012-12-11T18:38:12.027-06:00The Original Anti-“Howard Roark” Has Died At 104IT’S ALMOST A SACRILEGE TO COMPARE AND CONTRAST the life of one of the greatest architects of the 20th and 21st Centuries, Oscar Niemeyer, who died last Wednesday at 104, leaving to us a wondrous legacy of beauty and poetic expression, to Ayn Rand's fictional Howard Roark, invented to feebly deny the monumental accomplishments of a giant as Niemeyer. Roark was a didactic character, a vehicle for Ayn Rand’s twisted, juvenile philosophy in <i>The Fountainhead</i>, perhaps her best novel. Rather than compromise his self-respect, Roark pursued an utterly unrealistic career path getting himself expelled from architecture school for refusing to copy the classical styles of the past. He even worked as a day laborer rather than compromise his futuristic designs. Eventually, Roark threw a hissy fit and blew up his masterpiece, a house built on a cliff.
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Ironically, Rand’s knowledge of architecture was so perfunctory that her novel completely overlooked the creative explosion in design which was occurring right under her nose when <i>The Fountainhead</i> was published. One wonders why Roark felt compelled to go to such extremes before, say, paying a professional courtesy call on Frank Lloyd Wright. Or why he didn’t care to immerse himself in the myriad architectural movements, from modernism to Bauhaus, post-modernism, or the designs of Le Corbusier, an early influence on Oscar Niemeyer. The tyranny of classicism on which Rand hung her narrative was only manifested in the fascist dictatorships of Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy when <i>The Fountainhead </i>was published in 1943 — hardly the United States or any of the world’s democracies, where modern art and futuristic architecture thrived.
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The point is: Howard Roark, unlike Rand’s unrealistic Objectivist tome, had a huge menu of options to choose from before turning selfish terrorist, resorting to violence (a common theme for Rand’s heroes) and blowing up his own creation.
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By 1921, Oscar Niemeyer was married to his teenage sweetheart, and would remain married to her till death parted them, decades later. (Here, they call it “family values.”) He worked until he died at 104, days shy of his 105th birthday. (Here, they call it “the work ethic” or America’s “Puritan values.”) And while Ayn Rand was milching off Social Security and Medicare, Oscar Niemeyer was working full hours at the office. Those Oscar Niemeyer most related to, Mitt Romney’s 47% — the Republicans’ “takers” and “slackers” and “moochers” — had seemingly little in common with the great architect, who by all accounts was emblematic of the American Right’s myth of self-determination, of picking oneself up by one’s bootstraps while pretending to have been born unto this world on a level playing field. Niemeyer had an answer for them. He said:
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“Architecture evolves in function of technique and social problems. The day in which society becomes more horizontal, there won’t be palaces for the richest.<br />
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I’ve talked with teachers, academics, journalists, young architects—anyone who crosses my way and wants to “talk about architecture.” Pay attention, kids, you can’t graduate and just dedicate your life to being a good architect. That is bullshit. You need to find an original way to think and to be informed about everything daily. Read, read, read, and read.
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I wouldn’t (recommend his own books about architecture) at all! I would tell people they should study philosophy and history to rediscover the great writers and thinkers. Anyone who is going to be an architect should invest part of his time in the knowledge of humanism. I spent my life at this desk, but I never fooled myself. I always knew that life is much more important than this—to feel is more important, to be nice to people is more important. To be useful is much more important to me than my architecture.
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Architecture has always been directed to the upper class, and things haven’t changed. Nowadays there are almost no creative projects dedicated to improving the life of those who don’t have money.”
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You see, Oscar Niemeyer was<i> literally </i>a card-carrying member of the Brazilian Communist Party. During the dark days of military dictatorship in Brazil, days of massive political purges, torture, and “disappearances,” being openly communist took much more courage than the selfish terrorism of Howard Roark. To be sure, the PCB (as it was known) was an enemy of the state but hardly an operational threat. Niemeyer was named a sort of honorary chairman or president. It was only his prestige abroad, and his crowning historic achievement in designing Brazil’s futuristic capital, Brasilia, from the ground up, which protected him from the violence of the fascist military regime. He was exiled to France, where he continued his brilliant designs, including the headquarters of the French Communist Party. <br />
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Here is part of Oscar Niemeyer’s legacy, <a href="http://www.google.com/images?q=oscar+niemeyer+buildings&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&ei=k9HHULr9JKa_ygHPvoF4&start=0&sa=N">the beauty he left us all to enjoy for as long as man and woman walks this earth</a>. One little irony is that he also built his house on a cliff, a saucer-shaped museum overlooking Guanabara Bay and looking out toward the iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. No one (in their right non-Objectivist mind) would ever dream of blowing up this building. A second irony, witness to a life of grand achievements, is that Oscar Niemeyer had more creative energy, brilliance, poetry, beauty and genius in his little pinkie than all the right wing extremists of this world ranting against “socialists” and “Marxists.”<br />
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Not bad for a communist.<br />
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<b>MUSEUM ON A CLIFF.
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<b>BRAZILIAN CONGRESS.
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<b>ANTI-TORTURE MEMORIAL. IN THE U.S. THIS MEMORIAL (IF EVER BUILT) WOULD DEPICT WATERBOARDING.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-54010536517588449352012-12-09T11:02:00.001-06:002012-12-09T11:02:33.404-06:00P.S. Tragic Outcome to Aussie Radio Presenters' Prank (Below)THE NURSE AT THE HOSPITAL KATE MIDDLETON WAS STAYING WHO FELL FOR THE PRANK of two Aussie radio hosts posing as (a very bad) Queen Elizabeth and (a so-so) Prince Charles and transferred the call, has apparently committed suicide. In the wake of world wide social media furor and hysteria, the station has suspended but not fired the presenters, who are said to be, obviously, devastated.
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Here's my take: Tragic as this incident is, as pranks go this was hardly beyond the pale. Let's face it, the RIDICULOUS ROYALS are common fodder for this kind of thing. Charles even joked, when asked of Kate's condition, that he was no Australian radio station. No one knows why the nurse in question took her life. Yet millions have already judged and condemned the Aussie radio presenters.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-78523320964131179282012-12-07T10:57:00.000-06:002012-12-07T10:57:43.972-06:00Memo To Big Eddie: STOP Coddling Wingnuts For Ratings (?)USUALLY I DON'T HAVE MUCH TO COMPLAIN ABOUT BIG EDDIE, given the huge workload he's carrying with his radio and TV show; He's doing a great job, overall. But here's where I draw the line: The most LOATHSOME wingnut specimen of ALL is the pretend-reasonable type who will call in saying, "I like to listen to BOTH SIDES (Eddie and the Pigman) to make a conclusion about my children's future." (AWWW ...) First of all, these PHONIES fall into two categories: (1) They're PAID PLANTS (most likely here, the way this wingnut rolled Big Eddie); or (2) they're anti-social IMBECILES who have been living under a rock for the past two years.
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Inexplicably, Eddie does an on-air BRAIN MELT on the wingnut, saying "I'm glad you called" (?!), then allows the wingnut to ROLL HIM with the SPECIOUS, DESPICABLE, FAUX BROMIDE, "they're ALL, ALL OF THEM TO BLAME ... AND to think that they're ALL (Democrats and Republicans) making decisions about my children's future" ... blahblahblah. I have ALWAYS found that attitude OFFENSIVE and DISHONEST/DELUSIONAL to the nth degree. But now, in the wake of the election, with the Democrats' RESOUNDING and DECISIVE victory, for some wingnut to start bitching about the false equivalency, ALL OVER AGAIN, on the Big Eddie show is too much to stomach. I was expecting Big Eddie to ask this "john" WHAT EFFIN' ROCK HAS HE BEEN LIVING UNDER FOR THE LAST 2, 4, 6, 10 YEARS!? Didn't this pathetic "john" see Karl Rove and Dick Morris make DUMBASSES of themselves on FOX?! Big Eddie should have told the "john" quite simply, "If you want the TRUTH call this show. If you CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH, then keep listening to the Pigman, but don't waste my listeners' time calling this show."
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So what does Eddie say, instead: "They never met a payroll ... hehe." Excuse me, Eddie, but neither has President Obama, nor Paul Krugman, or Rachel Maddow, for that matter. Get a grip, buddy.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-65039046094171172662012-12-05T12:08:00.000-06:002012-12-05T12:08:00.290-06:00Quotable: Hunter S. Thompson, From The Rum DiaryTHEY BROKE THE MOLD WITH HUNTER. This, for me, is the best quote from the movie, for it embodies what journalists should be but few become. At best, as Lady Alex likes to say, we've got a pale imitation in "Mr. Emmy." Or as Oscar Wilde said, "nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-44680168219896325902012-12-05T11:44:00.000-06:002012-12-05T12:15:07.212-06:00Aussie Radio Hosts Impersonate Queen, Prince Charles ...AND GET THROUGH TO HOSPITAL WHERE KATEN MIDDLETON battles morning sickness!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wa5JQC8VNdw?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-44279469771238519092012-12-05T11:27:00.000-06:002012-12-05T12:14:04.717-06:00 A Walk On The Wild Side of RightwingvilleTHIS ONE IS DEFINITELY IN THE RUNNING FOR THE <i>true</i> "war on Xmas" awards. At first I thought it was another concrete jungle grotesque Gotham story of man's inhumanity to man, hot on the heels of that heartwarming story of a NYC cop (those guys are the best) buying a barefoot homeless man a $75 pair of boots. (P.S. The homeless man was later seen barefoot AGAIN, explaining rather sheepishly that he might get killed if caught wearing his fancy shoes. So much for the spirit of Christmas, but nice try, Martin.)
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Anyway, this yin-yang tale of horror involved the murder of a man pushed into the path of an oncoming subway train by a homicidal maniac. It happened to have been caught on camera, and TWICE published in the NY Post's front page. But what really drew my attention was that (a) the photographer was a freelancer for the Post, and (b) the corpse wasn't even cold before this bastard was on the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/r-umar-abbasi-ny-post-subway-photo-ki-suk-han_n_2243739.html">Today Show justifying himself</a> for doing nothing to save the man with the outrageous excuse that the "flash" from his camera would somehow alert the victim something was wrong.
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First of all, while there are grey areas regarding photojournalists who become "part of the story," there is very little debate concerning the saving of a life from imminent death. Real photojournalists understand the boundaries of their moral and ethical responsibilities in this regard, and have time and again proven their mettle and their courage by saving "civilians" in imminent danger. But we refer to the brave and noble photojournalists who place themselves in the line of fire every single day to get the story out of a war zone. The scum who shoot seamy photos for the front page of Rupert Murdoch's NY Post do not belong to this club, and never will.
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Speaking of Murdoch, he has ordered his lieutenant Roger Ailes to smack more lipstick on that pig known as FOX "News." After his so-called "political analysts" Dick Morris and Karl Rove were mercilessly mocked in the progressive blogosphere, including yours truly, for their absurd electoral predictions, prompting ferret-face David Gregory to immolate himself before the wingnut certitude emanating from Moron Joe & Co. to predict on election day an "enthusiasm gap" among Democrats, effectively calling the race for Romney, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/fox-news-karl-rove_n_2240883.html?utm_hp_ref=media">Murdoch-Ailes yanked Morris and Rove</a> off the air.<br />
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Gregory, of course, is still riding high on his magic disinformation carpet ride as the High Priest of the Idiot Punditocracy, which can only mean one thing: It won't be long before Morris and Rove join perennial Gregory favorite Newt Gingrich in those barf-inducing MTP panels. Too bad for Murdoch that Rove left after the burning barn door of the Media arm of the Republican Party was left wide open. Once major Murdoch competitor, the New York Times, took notice of Rove's cell phone comunications with the Romney campaign trying to pressure FOX "News" itself to change its call for Obama, it was game over.
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And how endearing is <a href="http:///">Roger Ailes' bromance with David Petraeus</a>? He tried to convince the general to run for president, even promising to "bankroll" his campaign. (Just imagine the faux outrage in Righwingville had the heads of WAPO, the Times or MSNBC offered to "bankroll" President Obama's campaign. Quite unrealistic, since only Rupie and his pals on the right have that kind of money.) Judging by FOX's declining ratings, it's "we've been reported (trans: busted) you decide." The last part's true. They're down to their core true believers. One thing about patriotic FOX viewers: They HATE a LOSER. Right now they're so, so lost, and there's nothing bimbo blonde legs, and Megyn too, can do about it.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-78992161842656968852012-11-30T17:29:00.000-06:002012-11-30T17:29:37.741-06:00MUSIC BREAK: THE BALLAD OF (*BURP*) JOHN BONER!IS THIS CRYIN' SLUSHBAG FOR REAL?! DOESN'T HE KNOW THE <u>DEMOCRATS WON THE ELECTION AND HE/TEABAGGERS LOST</u>?! The Speaker of the House IS EXPECTED to take tough, sometimes unpopular decisions (with his caucus of crazies) FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY. That is if you're counted among the great, historic Speakers. Here's to you, BONER. John Lennon had you totally sussed:
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-20608049929347939722012-11-30T11:09:00.000-06:002012-11-30T11:09:40.879-06:00ASTONISHING DETAIL IN PICTURE BELOW!ATTENTION WINGNUTS FROM UNDER EVERY ROCK AND RATHOLE IN RIGHTWINGVILLE! Aside from Mitt's awkward magic underwear stance, do you notice anything utterly TREASONOUS about him?! (Keep in mind, the photo has not been photoshopped! You may <i>trust but verify</i>, independently.) Give up? OMG, Mitt Romney is not wearing an American flag lapel pin!!! OH, THE HUMANITY! Where are the Fox Hounds, the Pigman, the wingnut blogosphere, yelling "unpatriotic traitor, traitor traitor!"
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">LAPELGATE!</span></div>
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</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-48914150900165150562012-11-30T07:56:00.001-06:002012-11-30T08:07:31.058-06:00OVAL OFFICE BANTER ...<span style="color: blue;">OBAMA: "WELCOME TO THE WHITE HOUSE, </span><i style="color: blue;">GOVERNOR</i><span style="color: blue;">." <span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "GURGLE; AARGH."</span> OBAMA: "WHAT? SORRY, WE DON'T ACCEPT GIFTS." <span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "GURGLE; AARGH." </span>OBAMA: "LOOK! THE PICTURES ARE JUST THE RIGHT HEIGHT!" <span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "GURGLE; AARGH."</span> OBAMA: "THERE ARE SOME THINGS MONEY JUST CAN'T BUY." <span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "GURGLE; AARGH."</span> OBAMA: "YOU'RE TAKING THE </span><i style="color: blue;">TURKEY CHILI</i><span style="color: blue;">, RIGHT?! WEIRDLY APPROPRIATE CHOICE; A LEFTOVERS LUNCH; MAY BE A BIT ON THE CHEESY SIDE ..." <span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "GURGLE; AARGH; GURGLE!"</span> OBAMA: "LET ME CALL THE WHITE HOUSE </span><i style="color: blue;">HELP</i><span style="color: blue;">: OH, </span><b style="color: blue;">TAGG</b><span style="color: blue;">!! (PSST ... I MADE THAT UP, OR RATHER MICHELLE SUGGESTED IT ... SHE'S SUCH A JOKESTER, HA-HA.) <span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "AYEEEEARGHH!!!" </span></span><span style="color: blue;">OBAMA: "THE BOXING GLOVES OVER THERE; TURNS OUT WE DIDN'T NEED 'EM. " </span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: red;">ROMNEY: "WHIMPER." </span></span><span style="color: blue;">OBAMA: </span><span style="color: blue;">"HAVE YOU SEEN THE FINAL COUNT? TURNS OUT YOU GOT 47% OF THE VOTE! ISN'T POLITICS IRONICALLY POETIC, SOMETIMES? YOU CAN LET GO NOW, </span><i style="color: blue;"><b>GOVERNOR</b></i><span style="color: blue;">."</span>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-46907080064277083022012-11-28T12:02:00.003-06:002012-11-28T12:02:45.894-06:00WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T GO TO THE 7TH FLOOR ...EXTREMELY FUNNY BRAZILIAN ELEVATOR GHOST PRANK:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/7N5OhNplEd4?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-3951201611678180662012-11-28T06:42:00.005-06:002012-11-28T06:42:50.837-06:00MITCH McTURTLE IS SLOOOOWW ...HE HASN'T REALIZED DEMOCRATS WON THE LAST ELECTION <u><b>RESOUNDINGLY</b></u> AND <u><b>DECISIVELY</b></u>!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XhfuGNDcdaA?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-69077699501694186972012-11-27T12:09:00.001-06:002012-11-27T12:09:31.896-06:00Susan Rice Meets With Sens. McCain, Graham, Ayotte ...WEARS LATEX GLOVES, SPLASH GUARD, AS CIA DIRECTOR HAS HER BACK, and infectious (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/gop-senators-susan-rice_n_2198255.html">Benghazi DERANGEMENT Syndrome</a>) disease physician is on standby:<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-45000709472911656182012-11-26T15:30:00.000-06:002012-11-26T15:30:31.130-06:00BIG EDDIE REACTS TO LATEST GIANTS HUMILIATION OF CHEESEHEADSYO, EDDIE HOW'D YOUR PACKERS DO LAST NIGHT? (SEE BELOW FOR BIG EDDIE'S TEARS.) But the Big Guy was otherwise all recovered from the L-Tryptophan Turkey overdose on Thanksgiving to offer some trenchant observations re:football this holiday w'end. Totally agree with Big Eddie on the hype surrounding the 49ers kid QB. You don't bench your starter who has done no wrong just because the kid shows flashes of brilliance and beginner's luck. Wait till he takes his first big league hit ...
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Couple other random thoughts: (1) Big Eddie ought to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/fireman-ed-quits-jets-sup_n_2189631.html?ref=topbar">interview — totally serious — his namesake</a> "Fireman Ed," the Jets' longtime No. 1 fan who has finally had ENOUGH of the Jets' EPIC INCOMPETENCE and up and quit! Should make for a great interview, Eddie. (2) Is anyone as SICK of the Cowboys as I am?! Everytime I turn around, one network or another is sucking up to Jerry Jones' HORRIBLE team, barely hanging on with a 5-6 record, a supremely incompetent coach, and a punch-drunk dumb quarterback. Yet wingnuts like Al Michaels talk up the team as if they're this HUGE powerhouse. The bias is so pronounced, it's embarrassing and DISGUSTING. (3) How incompetent is Norv Turner, San Diego coach?! Had his defense played basic, FUNDAMENTAL football, which means wrapping and NO MISSED OPEN FIELD TACKLES, they would've put the Ravens away on a 4th-and-29! At such a moment the coach has to gather his D and give them a reminder pep talk: FOCUS, COVER YOUR LANES, AND WHATEVER YOU DO, <u>NO MISSED OPEN-FIELD TACKLES</u>! Turner does a pretty good impression of a zombie on the sidelines, and that carries over to his team.
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Finally, I must say, Big Eddie, Aaron Rodgers is a totally overrated QB. Without a top receiving corps, he's like a lost widdle cheesehead in the woods. Put it this way: Given the choice, I'll take one of the most underrated QBs in football, Eli Manning, over Rodgers ... EVERY TIME. Eli is nothing short of amazing given what he's had to work with in his receiving corps.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-22193462408901614882012-11-23T09:24:00.001-06:002012-11-23T09:25:30.958-06:00P.S. Confederados: A Presidential ConnectionIn 1972, GEORGIA GOVERNOR (PRESIDENT, FOUR YEARS LATER) JIMMY CARTER AND HIS WIFE ROSLYN visited the grave of her great uncle, one of the original Confederados, at Campo. He said that the Confederados sounded and seemed just like Southerners.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-37857751233041302262012-11-22T21:59:00.003-06:002012-11-22T21:59:45.123-06:00HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYBODY!WITH A SERVING OF IRONIC HUMOR ...<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-24030882016835749622012-11-22T21:33:00.001-06:002012-11-22T21:33:43.111-06:00THE (CONFEDERATE) BOYS FROM BRAZILMEMO TO THE SECESSIONIST MOVEMENTS IN TEXAS, ALABAMA, LOUISIANA, et al: It would please, and probably surprise you to know that some 10,000 to 20,000 of your brethren <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederados">emigrated to Brazil after the Civil War</a> rather than accept surrender to the Yankees. They settled in many regions of that vast nation, but concentrated mostly in the state of São Paulo. Unfortunately, a guest on a Hardball segment dealing with the latest secessionist movement, "author" James Moore, trivialized and ripped this colorful aspect of Brazilian culture by referring to these settlements as "New Texas" — WRONG! The Confederate immigrants actually came from most, if not all the states currently with secessionist petitions — then had the GALL to call them "El Confederados," when anyone with an OUNCE of NON-ETHNOCENTRIC education knows that SPANISH IS NOT THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN THE COLOSSUS OF SOUTH AMERICA; IT IS PORTUGUESE. Therefore, the correct name is "OS CONFEDERADOS." Naturally, all of this was received with untoward and OBNOXIOUS mirth by Chris Matthews, who has the belly-laugh of AN IDIOT. (But we knew that.)
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Anyway, here's the Confederados annual cookout/party (2011), introduced by none other than a Portuguese-speaking Robert E. Lee! (Did you know there are hail storms in São Paulo?) Most of the revelers depicted in the video are direct descendants of the Confederate rebels who refused to surrender to the North, and they are very proud of their traditions. Word of advice, however, for any secessionists considering an exodus to be with their Southern relatives in São Paulo: Brazil is a very generous and welcoming nation; but moochers, deadbeats, and principally RACISTS need not apply. This ought to limit applications quite a bit.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-30632461719887442272012-11-21T14:28:00.001-06:002012-11-21T14:32:07.824-06:00HOT HIL! LET'S FACE IT FOLKS, OUR SEC. OF STATE LOOKS HOTHOTHOT playing the diplomatic power game at the highest level, negotiating a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The difference between her visiting a Buddhist temple in Thailand with the President, and this pic, is like night and day! Hillary in profile looks 20 years younger and totally in command. IMPRESSIVE, to be polite.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-43608762116545667482012-11-20T18:28:00.003-06:002012-11-20T18:28:50.185-06:00How ANONYMOUS Saved American DemocracyTHIS IS FOR THE BELTWAY ELITISTS, PARTICULARLY CHUCKLES TODDY AND CHRIS MATTHEWS, who scoff at persistent reports that our electronic voting system is eminently hackable, and that<i> elections have been stolen</i> — on the presidential level in Ohio (2004), and nearly stolen once again in 2012, were it not for the vigilance of those unsung heroes, ANONYMOUS. Toddy and Matthews are two sides of the same coin; they refuse to consider mountains of evidence, as if it's all too tin-foil hat for their rose-tinted, good guys (us) worldview. <br />
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While Chuckles was poring over his demographics statistics — important, no doubt — <i>Harper's Magazine </i>in its <a href="http://harpers.org/archive/2012/11/how-to-rig-an-election/">November 2012 issue</a> gave us a chilling account, largely ignored by the Beltway pseudo-cognoscenti, of how an election could be rigged, but thanks to ANONYMOUS was cut off at the pass. See, if Toddy were the least bit honest he would understand, and probably does, that to steal an election it's margin that counts. Considering how close the "experts" anticipated this election to be, its theft in Ohio, at least, was within reach for Karl Rove and his criminal co-conspirators. After all, they'd done it before, in 2004. Read more about it <a href="http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/new-evidence-vote-hacking-emerges-ohio-2004">here</a>; from the <a href="http://www.bushstole04.com/hackingelections/powerful_government.htm">GAO report</a>, commissioned by Senior Judiciary Committee Democrat, Rep. John Conyers, which concluded "some of [the] concerns about electronic voting machines have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes;" more from <i>Harper's </i>yeoman's work (<a href="http://harpers.org/archive/2005/08/none-dare-call-it-stolen/">2005 issue</a>).<br />
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Meanwhile, Chuckles Toddy, like a good card-carrying member of the Beltway elites, perpetuated the false narrative by brushing off claims of voting machine fraud with the following tweet: "The voting machine conspiracies belong in same category as the Trump birther garbage." Oh really, Chuckles? Then why haven't you (a) provided any hard evidence to back up your claim, much less (b) addressed the 17 specific examples of voting machine "irregularities" outlined in <a href="http://www.bradblog.com/?p=9651">The Brad Blog</a>, who stated, "Todd does an extraordinary disservice to the electorate with Tweets like the one above, and I'd be happy to come on his daily MSNBC show any time to explain why, as I have told him via Twitter in response to the above." Chuckles' reply: *CRICKETS*.<br />
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Enter ANONYMOUS with a dire warning for Karl Rove before the election of 2012:<br />
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Progressive radio host and author Thom Hartmann who, thankfully for us, takes the hacking theft of our elections as a clear and present danger to our democracy, puts meat on the bones of how this was attempted; Karl Rove's totally bizarre reaction when Ohio was called for Obama, his frantic phone exchanges with the Romney camp, or with who knows who, are perfectly understandable <i>in this context</i>. Pay attention, Chuckles and Chris. Not only is it fascinating, but you might learn something:<br />
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Here is part of the ANONYMOUS text, post-election (reproduced in full, below) in which what they did is explained: <br />
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"After a rather short time, we identified the digital structure of Karl's operation and even that of his ORCA. This was an easy task in that barn doors were left open and the wind swept us inside. So what do we do with these doors? Do we leave them open and catch the thieves as they steal the prize? Or do we close them so they cannot steal the prize?
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Our decision — protect the citizens.
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We coded and created, what we call, The Great Oz. A targeted password protected firewall that we tested and refined over the past weeks. We placed this code on more than one of the digital tunnels and their destinations that Karl's not so smart worker bees planned to use on election night. We noticed that these tunnels were strategically placed to allow for tunnel rats to race to the server sewers from three different states. Ah yes, Karl tried to make it appear that there were more than three but we quickly saw the folly of his ploy. We watched as Karl's little boys and girls confidently ran their tests while Karl told his barons to smoke cigars." </div>
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FINAL NOTE: One doesn't have to be a RATIONAL conspiracy theorist to FIX OUR VOTING MACHINE problem. Here are but a few suggestions: (a) Nationalize/legislate presidential elections by taking their management AWAY FROM PARTISAN SECRETARIES OF STATE, and hand them over to nonpartisan, neutral blue ribbon citizens groups; (b) create a PAPER TRAIL WHICH RECORDS EVERY SINGLE VOTE, in the same way one gets a paper receipt from an ATM machine; (c) de-privatize the vote count so that it is managed and supervised by nonpartisan, highly respected groups, such as the League of Women Voters. And (d) prosecute Karl Rove and his henchmen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245640.post-17534212975267640732012-11-19T14:46:00.000-06:002012-11-19T14:46:25.935-06:00Crystal-Unclear: Pins Climate Change Solutions On Gadfly SenatorsSENS. RON WYDEN AND LISA MURKOWSKY GIVE YOU OPTIMISM, CRYSTAL?! You've been hanging around your resident false asymmetry scion — "both sides do it" — S.E. too long! (Yeah, right Cuppster; go ask <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/marco-rubio-earth-age_n_2158555.html">Baby-Face Rubio HOW OLD THE EARTH IS</a>.) Face it, Crystal, by 2100 the Earth will be <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/global-temperature-rise_n_2094996.html">10 degrees warmer</a>; <i>too hot for human life</i>. Better start planning for that Mars timeshare. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0